something like that
by Silverflare07
Summary: "He kind of thinks he might understand exactly what Trish was talking about now because he's pretty sure this feeling is what he's been missing his whole life." Now a two-shot. Completely Auslly and a look into Ally's two biggest secrets.
1. Chapter 1

There's really not much to say here. I'm clearly on an _Austin & Ally_ kick. I've still got at least three more one-shots planned (all of them Auslly in nature). So, um, I hope you guys are prepared for them haha.

The inspiration for this from listening to _The Butterfly Song_ way too many times. And because I read _way_ too much into things. Hope you guys enjoy it.

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><p>Austin knows something is wrong when his mother, who has never even met Ally before, calls him and tells him to get over to <em>Sonic Boom<em> immediately and that she'll see him in a few days (it's this last part that confuses him the most-his mother hasn't mentioned having any travel plans and, as far as he knows, he doesn't either.) When he asks why he needs to rush over to the store (truth be told, he was on his way there anyways), his mother replies with a simple, "It's Ally."

That's all he needs to hear. He hangs up his phone before his mother can even finish explaining what has happened and speeds the rest of the way to store. He's not a particularly religious person but he asks everyone and everything he knows for Ally to be okay because he's not really good at handling emergencies and panicking (or decisions, but he doubts this will have much to do with him making decisions). When he makes it to _Sonic Boom_, however, he finds that everything is perfectly normal. The store is, perhaps, a bit busier than normal, but he doesn't see any sign of the emergency he heard in his mother's voice.

"Hey." He walks up to his partner turned best friend and when she looks up at him he can immediately see what's wrong.

She's pale, well paler than normal (as she's always been a touch on the light side) and Austin's jaw drops as he takes in her disheveled appearance. "Whoa. You look like death!"

Her eyes narrow and he realizes that perhaps that wasn't the best thing to say (but then, he's always been a speak first, think later sort of guy). He holds up his hands in surrender. "Are you okay?" He tries for more tactful this time.

She seems to literally deflate as he asks this and he realizes with a shock that, while the rest of her is shockingly pale, her face is bright red. "I'm fine." She sounds anything but fine to Austin though. "It's just a stupid cold."

As soon as she finishes talking, however, she is wracked by such a violent coughing fit that he's actually a little concerned she might cough up blood. Or a lung. He pulls hand from her mouth as soon as she's finished (half to catch her attention and half to check for blood. Or a lung.) "You're _not_ fine, Ally." He informs her and he surprises them both by sounding stern. "Now go up stairs. I'll take care of the customers that are here and then take you home."

She shakes her head, but it's weak and they both know she wants nothing more than to listen to him. "No. There's no one here to look after the store. I can't just-"

"Ally!" Austin steps behind there counter, trapping her between himself and the cash register, "I know you're dad is out of town at that convention, but the store will be fine if you close it for a few days. Besides," He adds as she doubles over from another coughing fit. "You can't work if you're like this."

She glares at him for a few minutes, but he straightens himself until he's as tall as possible (he's always towered over her, and this time he's using it to his advantage) and glares right back. Finally she sniffles and her whole body slumps forward as she rest her forehead against his chest. "Okay." Her voice is slightly muffled by his shirt, but Austin smiles all the same.

"Good." He steps back and points up stairs. "Now go rest. I'll come get you when everyone is gone."

-/-

"Thanks!" Austin calls as the last customer takes their leave. "Come see us again!" He grins happily and locks the main doors. It had taken longer than he had expected to clear out the store, but at least now he can take Ally home and take care of her.

"Ally." He calls as he opens the practice room door. "I'm finished. Let's head-" He stops at the sight of her curled up on the floor, her head resting on one of the chairs, and sound asleep.

"Nevermind." He smiles gently down at the sleeping girl before carefully picking her up and cradling her against him. "Let's get you home.

-/-

He puts Ally to bed, making sure that he's got tissues and a bowl (just in case) near her bed for when she wakes up. He makes his way downstairs and turns on the TV, making sure to keep it low enough that he can hear if Ally wakes up. He spends about an hour like that until Ally's phone suddenly goes off. He sees that it's Trish so he picks it up, holding to his ear.

"Guess who got a job at the sunglasses store!" Her voice sings out before he can even answer.

"_Sunny's Shades_? Sweet!" He grins. There's a pair of sunglasses there that he's had his eye on a Trish's employee discount could definitely come in handy.

"Austin?" His friend sounds confused. "Where's Ally? And why is _Sonic Boom_ closed?"

Austin sighs, sprawling himself even further out over the Dawson's couch. "She's really sick. I made her close the store early and took her home."

"You left her home by herself?"

"What? No!" He's offended that she would even think that and can hear the defensiveness in his own voice. "I would never do that. I'm here now."

"I'll be over in ten minutes." Trish informs him, hanging up the phone before he can argue with her.

Almost ten minutes later exactly, the Dawson's doorbell rings and Austin moves to get up from the couch. His feet barely hit the floor before the door bursts open and Trish bursts in, a very stylish pair of shades resting on her head. "Where's Ally?" She asks.

Austin gestures to the stairs. "She's in her room. Sleeping peacefully. Why-"

Before he can finish his question, Trish brushes past him and makes her way up the stairs. "Hey!" Austin calls out as he follows her. "What are you doing?" He plants himself between Trish and Ally's door. "You're going to wake her up."

Trish rolls her eyes and pushes him lightly out of the way before opening the door. He follows her into the room and they both stop short as they see Ally curled in a ball, clearly not sleeping as peacefully as Austin had suspected. He rushes over to her and gently shakes her awake. "Ally? Ally-cat?"

She looks up at him through half closed eyes. "Mommy?" She whispers, clearly still half asleep. She sounds so small and fragile that it nearly breaks Austin's heart. "It's me Ally. It's Austin. I'm here." He grabs her hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. "Go back to sleep, Ally. Everything's okay."

The words barely leave his mouth before she's already fast asleep again. This time more peacefully. Austin settles down on the floor beside her bed, her hand still clasped in his. He turns his head to face Trish who is smirking at him. "Okay, I _thought _she was sleeping peacefully. It's just a cold. How was I supposed to know it was going to affect her this badly?"

Trish's smirk falls off her face and she joins Austin on the floor, resting her back against Ally's bed. "Ally hardly ever gets sick." She says after a moment. "So when she does, it really wipes her out. She can barely function, even if it's just a cold."

Austin looks back up at his best friend. "Poor Ally."

Trish nods. "Yeah and these are the only times she ever wants her mom."

Austin turns to face his other friend once more. "What happened to her? Ally's mom."

The petite girl sighs, brushing back some of her curly hair. "It's not really my place to talk about it." She sees Austin face fall at her words. "But Ally _will_ tell you someday. I know she will."

"Yeah, sure." He doesn't mean to sound bitter, honestly. But Ally is one of the most important people in his life (slowly creeping up to the position of most important) and he hates that there are these big things he doesn't know about her. That she won't talk to him about.

"It's true!" Trish admonishes gently. "You're one of the most important people in the world to Ally and she trusts you completely. You just need to give her time."

"Uh-huh." He can't help but sound disbelieving. "That's why she can't even tell me why her mom isn't around or why she has stage fright."

Trish sighs. "Look." She says finally. "I know Ally trusts you. You want to know why?" Austin cocks his head to the side and looks over at her. "Because you're the only person she sings in front of."

Austin looks taken aback by this. "What?"

"Ally doesn't sing in front of anyone. But she sings with you _all the time_. You're the only person she's comfortable opening up that side of herself with. And you know what a big deal her music is to her. So you've got to be able to see how much that must mean she trusts you. Even her dad and I haven't heard her sing since-" She clamps her mouth shut, as if just realizing that she was about to say something she shouldn't have.

Austin can't even be upset that she cut herself off right before revealing whatever it is that had caused Ally's stage fright. He also can't fight off the dopey smile that slides across his face at Trish's words. "Are you jealous?"

Trish shoots him a look, but her eyes soften after a moment. "Kind of. I mean, you're awesome and I really like you, you know as a friend, but it's been almost eight years since I've heard my best friend sing and you come along and get her to break down her walls in the course of a week."

Austin's pretty sure he's got what has to be the goofiest looking smile on his face right now, but he can't be bothered to care. Trish's words have sent a warmth spreading through his chest and he squeezes the sleeping Ally's hand subconsciously, his gaze lingering on her sleeping face. Trish smirks at this action, but he doesn't notice it. "It's just like _The Butterfly Song_." She tells him.

He tears his gaze away from Ally and faces Trish with a quizzical look. "Huh?"

Trish gestures vaguely towards their friend. "Ally can seem so small and shy that sometimes you don't realize, or forget, the incredible things she's capable of."

"Like the caterpillar!" Austin's face brightens up as understanding settles upon him.

"Yeah." Trish nods. "And you," she looks pointedly at the blonde singer, "you and your friendship are kind of like her cocoon." He's starting to look confused again, so she elaborates. "You're bringing her out of her shell. Transforming her into this outgoing and much happier Ally Dawson. And someday, it's going to break open and she's going to be this amazing butterfly."

He understands Trish's metaphor (mostly because Ally sat down and explained metaphors to him after the whole "goose" fiasco) and he can't stop the happiness that bubbles up inside of him, breaking to the surface in the form of another ridiculously dopey grin. "Wait." His grin falters as her choice of words sinks in. "Break? You think Ally and I will stop being friends."

Trish gives him a look he can't decipher before smirking at him again. "Something like that."

Austin turns to face Ally and his smile is suddenly back in place. "Well, as long as it helps Ally, it will be worth it." He brushes some hair out of her face as his smile softens and he completely misses the knowing grin that Trish is shooting them.

"It's funny." Austin turns back to face his friend when she speaks. "She didn't even know you in kindergarten, but she was already writing music about the two of you."

He shrugs. "It must just be a coincidence."

"I don't know." Trish raises her eyebrow at him and smirks again. "That sounds like destiny to me."

Austin feels his face flush at the suggestion, but he grins despite the redness in his cheeks. "Maybe you're right Trish."

"Well." Trish stands up, dusting herself off, "it's look like you've got everything under control here."

"You're leaving?" Austin is slightly confused by her sudden change in attitude. Not even twenty minutes ago she had almost knocked down the Dawson's front door in order to get to her friend.

"Yeah, well, my fifteen minute break ended," she checks her watch, "about an hour ago, so I should probably head back. Besides," She grins at him, "she's in good hands."

Austin shakes his head, laughing silently at his friend and her questionable work ethic. He pulls his phone from his pocket and calls his mother, requesting a few different changes of clothes (he gets why she said she'd see him in a few days. She clearly knows him, and knows that he would never leave his best friend sick and home alone). He remembers to ask her at the last second why she was even in _Sonic Boom_ early that day. She laughs and tells him that she was shopping and wanted to stop by and say hello the famous Ally Dawson she'd heard so much about (she has the same tone of voice that Trish did when she'd been talking about what would happen to his and Ally's relationship, but he brushes it off).

He hangs up with his mother and thinks about destiny again, grinning. He shifts a little to get more comfortable and grabs his iPod from his jacket so that he has some music to listen to while he waits for Ally to wake up. He closes his eyes as the chords from his favorite song fill his ears, his heading falling back onto the bed behind him.

His eyes slowly drift close as he slips off into a peaceful sleep, lulled there by the music and warm feeling of his best friend's small hand still wrapped in his.

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><p>Well, tell me what you think. I wanted to try my hand at Trish's character (I have a one shot planned where I want to try writing Dez's character to). I really love the groups overall friendship, so I wanted to explore some of that too. I know this wasn't full out Auslly, but I thought the moment was sweeter this way.<p>

Also, in my head cannon, Austin's mom totally knows, even if her son doesn't realize it quite yet.

Well let me know what you think! :)


	2. Chapter 2

So many of you wanted a second chapter and I was leaning so far towards adding another one that you guys just pretty much just helped tip me over in that direction. I've really wanted to try my hand at explaining Ally's stage fright and her lack of a mom on the show and since it's mentioned in the first chapter, I figured this might be a pretty good place to try it.

Enjoy!

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><p>Austin wakes up to the sound of coughing. It takes his groggy brain a few seconds to process where he is and why someone is coughing. And then his brain realizes who is coughing and his head snaps up so fast that he nearly bumps heads with Ally who had been trying to shake him awake before she'd started coughing.<p>

He gets on the bed beside his best friend, rubbing her back until her coughing subsides. "Hey," He brushes some hair that has fallen into her face back behind her ear, "how are you feeling?"

"A little better." She admits, smiling lightly. "I still kind of feel like I got run over by a truck, but at least it feels like a smaller truck now."

Austin laughs lightly, placing his hand on her forehead. "You're fever feels like it's gone down a little too. That's good. We're still keeping the store closed tomorrow though so you can keep resting." He fixes her with his best "stern parent" glare incase she decides to argue.

She doesn't. "That's probably a good idea." She pulls her hair back, lifting it from the back of her neck. "I'm going to take a shower, I feel kind of gross."

Austin nods and stands up, heading towards the door. "Okay. I'll go make you something to eat. Just come down stairs when you're done."

"I don't know." She looks at him nervously. "I'm not really hungry and I don't want to end up throwing up around you."

"You need to eat something, Ally. It's definitely not good to go without food when you're sick. And besides, if you do puke, won't it be better to have someone around to hold your hair back?"

She shakes her head, but smiles at him and he think his face might be heating up and he's not quite sure why, he must be getting sick too, he reasons. "Thanks Austin. I'll be down in a few minutes."

"Good." He sticks his head back in the room and smiles. "I'm glad you're feeling better." He tosses her a wink and then disappears again, bounding down the stairs and singing _Without You_ loud enough for her to hear.

-/-

Ally arrives downstairs fifteen minutes later, her hair down and still soaking wet, dressed in sweat pants and an oddly familiar hoodie. "Is that mine?" Austin asks, as he stirs the pot of soup on the stove.

She glances down at the aforementioned hoodie, looking thoughtful. "Um, maybe? It's weird, I don't remember buying this, but I don't remember how I would have gotten it from you either. You can have it back."

Austin laughs, placing a bowl of chicken noodle soup in front of her as she slides into a chair at the table. "Don't worry about it. I sort of forgot I even had that hoodie until just now. It went missing like four months ago."

Ally groans and Austin thinks she might be blushing, but her face is already so flushed he can't be sure. "I can't believe I stole your sweater and don't even remember doing it."

He laughs again and pushes the bowl of soup towards. "Don't worry about. It looks better on you anyways. Now eat."

Ally does as she's told. Closing her eyes, she enjoys the sensation of the warm soup sliding down her throat. When she was little, nothing could make her feel better than chicken noodle soup when she was sick. She doubts that Austin knows this though, but she's still glad for the coincidence. "Thank you, Austin."

"Don't worry about it." He reaches across the table and squeezes her hand. "I'm always here to take care of you, you know that."

She smiles shyly at him, before eating some more of the soup. Austin's hand still rests atop hers and he begins to rub his thumb absent-mindedly over her wrist. "How's the soup taste?" He asks, not quite sure why he sounds shy all of a sudden.

"It's great. Just like my mom used to make." Her eyes widen as she lets the words slip.

Austin's eyes widen as well. This is the first time he's even heard Ally speak about her mother before. He can see that she's struggling for words and that breaks his heart more than not knowing the truth does so he gives her hand another gentle squeeze, smiling softly at her. "It's okay." He tells her reassuringly. "You don't have to tell me until you're ready."

He hates not knowing, but he reminds himself about what Trish said about her be able to sing in front of him, and only him, and it makes him feel better almost immediately.

She shakes her head suddenly though, surprising him. "No. I mean, thank you." She smiles gratefully. "But you deserve to know. You're my best friend, Austin," Her eyes soften as she stares at him, "and I hate keeping these huge things from you. It's such a part of who I am and if there's one thing I know, it's that I can trust you with everything."

Austin successfully manages to keep down the ecstatic grin that wants to split over his face (he's thrilled that she's finally ready to tell him, but he knows this is a serious story and he doesn't need to be smiling for it). "Thanks, Ally. That really means a lot. Wait…things? There's more than one?"

Ally nods solemnly. "My mom and my stage fright…they're linked."

His eyes widen in shock again. He'd honestly never even considered the possibility that her mother's absence might be connected to her stage fright. He nods at his best friend encouragingly. "Okay."

She takes a few deep breaths and he's pretty sure she's giving herself a pep talk in her head. "I've never told anyone this before." She confesses softly after another few minutes of silence. "Trish and my dad only know because they were there."

Austin reaches back and tucks more hair behind her ear. "You don't have to tell me Ally-cat."

He's surprised to find her eyes water at the nickname. "My mom used to call me that." She tells him, smiling despite the tears in her eyes. "And it's okay. I want to tell you. I just-it's hard to talk about."

Austin nods again. "Okay. Take your time."

They sit in silence for another few minutes while Ally takes a few more timid bites of her soup. Finally she stops and looks up at him. "When I was in second grade I was in my class' production of _Peter Pan_." She smiles fondly at the memory. "I was Wendy and I was so excited about it. It was my favorite movie as a kid and my mom and I would always watch it together. My mom was really excited to see it, but I noticed that she never came and neither had my dad. My next door neighbor picked me up from the school and she took him to the hospital."

Austin's pretty sure he knows what's coming next, but he doesn't speak. Just wraps her hand even more tightly in his own, offering his support that way, rather than with words.

"When we got there my dad was a wreck. My mom had been running late to the performance and she'd been trying to get there as fast as possible so she could see me," her voice caught and Austin's heart cracked. "She lost control of the car and ended up in a really bad wreck. S-She didn't even make it through the night." Tears start rolling down her cheeks, dripping off her chin and landing in the now lukewarm bowl of soup.

Austin gently pulls her out of her seat and slides them down to a sitting position on the floor, keeping his arms wrapped around her as she cries. He kisses the top of her head gently, rocking her a little like his mother used to do for him when he was younger and upset. "It's okay Ally." He rubs her back soothingly. "It's going to be okay."

They stay like that for a long time, but Austin doesn't mind. Ally needs him and he'd come to terms with the fact that he'd do just about anything for Ally a long time ago. About the time when he jumped on stage and sang _The Butterfly Song_ even though he was positive Tilly was going to destroy his career (it's funny, he realizes, how much actually comes back to _The Butterfly Song_).

Ally eventually manages to stop crying but she doesn't move from Austin's arms, which makes him ridiculously happy. He loves having her there, holding her, protecting her, being the one she trusts to be completely and totally vulnerable around. And when did he turn into such a sap? Oh right, it might have been about the time he hobbled under a table and told his best friend how awesome she was, even though he was supposed to be singing for Emilio. She rests her head on his shoulder and there's a few more seconds of silence before she starts speaking again.

"I signed myself up for the talent show the next year." She tells him. He's confused by this seemingly random statement, but before he can say anything she continues. "I tried to sing a song I'd written, about being able to fly with the right person showing you how and, you know, with some faith, trust, and pixie dust." He can almost hear a smile in her voice and he kind of, really wants to hear the song, but he knows that's one thing that will probably never happen. "I couldn't do it." She whispers, all traces of happiness or a smile gone from her voice.

"Why?" He asks. "Everyone loved _The Butterfly Song_, why wouldn't they like this one?"

Ally shakes her head. "It wasn't that. I got up on stage and I just _froze_. I just kept seeing my father's face as he me told my mom had been really hurt on her way to see me perform. I couldn't even get the words out. I just sort of collapsed onto the floor and started crying because I couldn't see my dad in the audience and I was so afraid he was being hurt too." She shudders, as if she's reliving that fear. "I kept yelling for him until he made his way onto the stage and had to carry me off. Turns out he was in the audience the whole time, just in back and that's why I couldn't see him."

Austin pulls her a littler closer subconsciously. His hand has been rubbing her shoulder since she'd started talking and he doesn't stop his ministrations as he waits patiently for her to continue. "After that, well you know how little kids could be. I got teased so bad I actually ended up switching schools. And ever since then I just haven't been able to get on stage. I don't even want other people looking at me. It's just too frightening."

Austin's heart completely breaks at this and he pulls her back into a proper hug, burying his face in her hair. "Oh Ally…I'm so sorry."

She returns the hug, and when she speaks he can hear a small smile in her voice. "It's okay. It actually feels good to be able to talk about it with someone." They pull apart and Ally leans up to kiss his cheek. "Thank you, Austin."

He turns as she says his name, and instead of his cheek, her kiss hits a little (a lot) more than just the corner of his mouth. They both jerk back in surprise at the surge of electricity that they feel at the contact. Austin is starring at her, unable to tear his brown eyes away from hers. He kind of thinks he might understand exactly what Trish was talking about now because he's pretty sure this feeling is what he's been missing his whole life. "Ally-cat…" He whispers, still refusing to take his eyes off her.

"I never thought I'd ever want to hear that nickname again." She tells him, speaking just as softly. "But I really like hearing you call me that." A genuine smile blossoms onto her face.

He reaches his hand towards her, burying it in her chestnut locks. They stare at each other for a few more minutes in absolute silence. The next thing he knows he's kissing her with a reckless abandon. She tastes like chicken noodle soup and tears and _Ally_ and damn it all if it's not the best thing he's ever tasted in his entire life. Even better than pancakes. He pulls her onto his lap and it vaguely occurs to him that they're practically making out on her kitchen floor. But he doesn't care. He just wants to fall into Ally for as long as he can.

She pulls away eventually, leaning her forehead against his. "Wha…?" He's too dazed to actually get anything coherent out and it makes Ally giggle.

"Sorry," she apologizes, "but I need to breath."

Breath? Who needs to breath? Austin doesn't. Not when he can be kissing Ally instead. How has he never realized that this is exactly what he's always wanted. He reaches for her again, trying to bring her face back to his when she turns her head so fast that she whips him with her hair and sneezes.

She turns back to him and they both break out into laughter. He leans up and kisses her lightly on the lips. "I completely forgot you were sick."

"Me too." She admits and she sounds breathless and her cheeks are rosy and Austin's pretty sure it's just from her cold anymore. The thought makes him grin.

"You have to get better soon." He tells her. At her quizzical glance he elaborates. "I can't take you on our first date if you're not feeling well."

She beams and presses her lips to his once again. He closes his eyes and grips her hips, trying to pull her a close to him as possible. He thinks briefly about _The Butterfly Song_ and destiny but pretty soon his brain is consumed with _AllyAllyAlly_ and he's not really thinking much after that.

-/-

He wakes up the next morning and the light is too bright, his head is pounding, and he's freezing despite the fact that it's summer time in Miami. He turns his head to find Ally standing next to the couch where he'd fallen asleep, looking apologetic and holding out a box of tissues and some cold medicine. He sneezes violently and can't help rolling his eyes. Maybe kissing Ally yesterday, while she was sick, wasn't his smartest idea.

But Ally comes back into the room with a wet wash clothe for his forehead and the promise that she'll look after him as she brushes his bangs out of his eyes. He grins up at her with the same dopey look he couldn't keep off his face yesterday as he'd talked to Trish.

On second thought, it was totally worth it.

* * *

><p>And there's my attempt at explaining Ally's stage fright and her mother's absence. Hopefully it was too out there or anything.<p>

Well, let me know what you thought. I love this show and I love this fandom and I love to know what you guys think. :)


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